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Xbox Live Catches Super Bowl Fever
Super Bowl’s on this weekend. People are excited. Few as excited as Microsoft seem to be, as they’ve just announced that, all day Sunday, Xbox Live will be going bananas for all things football. For the 24 hours that encompass the day, Microsoft will be setting up a dedicated Xbox Live “channel” called “Football Fanfare”,…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 30, 2009 -
Microsoft Talks Future of Halo Wars And Ensemble Studios
Just because Ensemble Studios is dead that does not mean the studios’ Halo Wars are gone. The game will live on! As Jason Pace, Halo Wars lead producer and MGS Halo franchise overseer, points out, Ensemble is forming a new company and will help support the game with bug patches and whatnot. When asked about…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 30, 2009 -
This Is The New Xbox Experience That Could Have Been
Design firm Grid/plane worked with Microsoft on early design ideas for the New Xbox Experience. While the NXE we ended up with is a different beast, it’s interesting looking at what could have been. While Grid/plane’s ideas obviously centred around a new menu system, they also “dreamt up an immersive 3D environment for users to…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 30, 2009 -
Europe’s Getting A “Best of Halo” Xbox 360 Bundle
Halo Wars‘ attach rate should be comfortably boosted in Europe, thanks to a new bundle that Microsoft looks to be introducing in the continent. Swedish retailers are now listing a “Best of Halo” hardware release. What, according to the box, comprises the “best” of the Halo franchise? Ensemble Studios‘ Halo Wars and Bungie’s Halo 3,…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 28, 2009 -
360 Avatar Update Only Sings When It’s Winning
There’s a whole swathe of new clothing options for your 360 avatar today. Thing is, unless you’re European, and a European football fan at that, they won’t be of much use to you. Eighteen shirts were added today, to make up what Microsoft are calling the “European National Football Teams” collection. If Europeans/football fans were…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 27, 2009 -
Fable II, Banjo Kazooie Sales Are Chalk & Cheese
Microsoft released three first-party games towards the end of 2008. Gears of War 2, we know, is a smashing success. But what of the other two games, Fable II and Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts? Sales data released by the NPD Group today reveals that the games’ experience on store shelves couldn’t have been more…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 27, 2009 -
Microsoft: Windows Still a “First-Class Gaming Platform”
Despite deep cuts into Microsoft’s gaming division, the company says today they remain dedicated to Windows as a “first-class gaming platform.” The company also confirmed to Kotaku that Chris Early, former general manager of Games for Windows Live, was indeed laid off. Ron Pessner, who comes from Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division, will be assuming…
By Brian Crecente Published January 27, 2009 -
Halo Wars DLC A Definite Possibility
At a preview event for UK journalists, the lead producer behind Ensemble Studio’s real-time strategy take on the Halo universe suggested that downloadable content for the game could be in the works. UK tech news site Electricpig spoke with Halo Wars producer Jason Pace at the preview event for the game, who indicated that while…
By Mike Fahey Published January 27, 2009 -
So Why All The Microsoft Game Group Firings?
Microsoft said they were sacking 1,400 people across the entire company, yet a disproportionate number of those cuts fell upon the (relatively) small gaming group. What gives? Did somebody piss in Steve Ballmer’s coffee? In the literal sense, no, but somebody looking at Micosoft’s research & development budget may well have exclaimed “oh man, the…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 27, 2009 -
Games For Windows Live Boss Sacked
We heard last week that Microsoft’s Games for Windows team was facing layoffs. Weren’t sure how many were going to be affected. Turns out that one of the group’s bosses is among the casualties. VentureBeat report that Chris Early, former general manager of Games for Windows Live, was among those given their marching orders last…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 26, 2009 -
360 To Get Special Resident Evil 5 Console
Ars Technica have a 360 mole, who’s previously been fairly solid, so we’ll run with this: Capcom and Microsoft have teamed up to offer a special edition Resident Evil 5 Xbox 360. And that console will come as part of a larger bundle, a bundle that includes: * Red 360 * Red control pad *…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 24, 2009 -
Flight Simulator Series May Live On
Microsoft’s Flight Simulator series has been running since 1982. Hell of a long time. But news yesterday of the sacking of the game’s development team cast the future of the series in serious doubt. Chin up, Flight Sim fans! While the most recent group behind the series are no more, the series itself may well…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 23, 2009 -
More Microsoft Layoffs Hit Game Testers, Games For Windows Group
Sorry. More Microsoft layoff news. Seems in addition to the Flight Sim and Gamerscore sackings, Microsoft have also laid off a number of testers, as well as members of the Games for Windows team. According to Venturebeat, around 30% of Microsoft’s video game testers have been shown the door, so if your next Microsoft Games…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 23, 2009 -
U.S. Senator Doesn’t Want Microsoft To Fire People
Yes, Microsoft is slashing 5,000 jobs: 1,400 of them this week and another 3,600 over the next 18 months. U.S. Senator Charles Grassley wants to stop this bloodletting right now. “I am concerned that Microsoft will be retaining foreign guest workers rather than similarly qualified American employees when it implements its layoff plan,” the Iowa…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 23, 2009 -
Don’t Blame the Recession, Blame the Developers
News of game developers slashing thousands of jobs this week and shutting down studios, seems to dispute the notion of a recession-proof video game industry. But video games are indeed recession proof, it’s the developers and publishers who aren’t. “A recession is about the impact on sales, and layoffs are a function of profitability,” said…
By Brian Crecente Published January 23, 2009 -
Halo Wars The Video Documentary: Part 1
For those of you who’d rather not fill your Xbox 360 with a nice-sized chunk of video, here’s the first in a series of video documentaries for the real-time strategy game Halo Wars. It almost serves as an introduction to the real-time strategy genre for those fans of the series who are used to the…
By Mike Fahey Published January 23, 2009 -
Halo Wars Is Golden, Demo Drops February 5th
Ensemble Studios’ real-time strategy take on the Halo universe is heading to the printer, with a single player demo of Halo Wars ready to strike Xbox Live Marketplace on February 5th. The Halo Wars gold master is on its way to manufacturing, well in time for its late February / early March release dates. While…
By Mike Fahey Published January 23, 2009 -
“Bulk Of” Microsoft’s 1400 Job Cuts To Strike Entertainment Division
According to sources speaking with ZDNet’s resident Microsoft blogger, Mary-Jo Foley, “the bulk of [Microsoft’s] immediate 1,400-person cuts” are going to fall on the Entertainment & Devices Group. Which includes the Xbox team. We were told the same thing earlier today, and when contacted Microsoft PR issued the following statement: “This is a company-wide action,…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 23, 2009 -
Gamerscore Blog Team Let Go As Part Of Microsoft Layoffs
Sorry to keep hitting you with these bad news stories. Maybe things will get happier next week. But today, things are bleak, with news now that Microsoft’s Gamerscore blog team have been laid off. We heard last week that the blog had been shut down, but there was always the chance that was simply part…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 22, 2009